FORT IRWIN, Calif. - Food service specialists with the 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion are using mobile kitchen trailers to provide meals for Leopard Battalion soldiers.

The unit is at the National Training Center preparing for its upcoming deployment in support of Operation New Dawn.

The cooks began learning to operate the trailers during field training rotations the 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command, conducted in March. They strive to provide hot meals for soldiers, despite challenges such as temperatures inside the trailer reaching up to 30 degrees higher than the temperature outside.

"We want to be proud of how our food tastes," said Spc. Michael Hanspard, a food service specialist with the 157th Quartermaster Company. "In my experience, food service relies on manpower, supplies and support. That is what it takes to fulfill the mission."

They are using the trailers to feed more than 500 soldiers during the battalion's rotation at the National Training in September and October.

"Our role in the training is to provide and serve food to enable Soldiers to meet their mission," said Pvt. Tiffany Dodson, a food service specialist with the 418th Transportation Company.